The present invention relates generally to systems for dispensing prescribed medications and, more particularly, to a drug dispensing system which enables physicians and approved staff members to conveniently and safely dispense medications from an office of a medical practice.
Traditional methods of dispensing prescribed medications are well known to consumers and medical practitioners. Typically, a consumer receives a drug prescription from a doctor and then proceeds to have the prescription filled by a separate retail pharmacy. Unfortunately, when separate entities are used for prescribing and providing medication, errors can be introduced into the dispensing process which results in improper dispensing of medication. The dispensing of incorrect drugs or the dispensing of proper drugs of incorrect strengths poses serious risks to patients which can lead to injury and even death.
To reduce such risks, doctors may provide on-site dispensing of certain prescriptions through the use of repackaged drugs. However, under Federal and State law, physicians must dispense only properly packaged and labeled drug products. More specifically, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as well as the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) require that drug products are repackaged in facilities under stringent quality and procedural standards. Using these standards and procedures, doctors can effectively maintain a comprehensive system for on-site dispensing of medical products while simultaneously providing for the tracking of medical products and/or other inventory maintained by a medical practice. In this manner, doctors can effectively track drug dispensing transactions such that doctors can know what drugs are available for dispensing and whether quantities of drugs on hand have reached critical levels.
Another desirable feature for on-site dispensing of medical supplies is a system that allows for convenient and quick dispensing of prescription drugs. In this regard, it is desirable that prescription drugs may be easily transferred from inventory to a storage and/or dispensing unit that may be quickly and easily refilled and from which prescription drugs may be quickly and easily dispensed. Such drugs are preferably selected from items that are most commonly prescribed for a doctor's patients. More specifically, such items are preferably selected from a predetermined product formulary that best suits the practice of the doctor's office. Items may be selected from an inventory of commonly used solid oral medications, injectables, suspensions, creams and ointments. Either brand-name medications or high quality generic medications may be provided.
Accordingly, there exists a need for a system for manually dispensing of prescription drugs at point-of-care facility using patient-ready bottles. Furthermore, there exists a need in the art for a dispensing system wherein the patient-ready bottles may be prepackaged into a self-contained dispensing cartridge. Additionally, there exists a need in the art wherein the cartridges can be easily loaded into a storage locker or cabinet that can be locked to prevent or deter unauthorized access thereinto. Furthermore, there exists a need in the art for a dispensing system wherein the cabinet is not readily portable in order to deter theft of certain controlled substances that may be stored in the cabinet.
Also, there exists a need in the art for a dispensing system wherein the cartridges may be easily loaded into the cabinet after which the patient-ready bottles may be dispensed in one-at-a-time fashion. Furthermore, there exists a need in the art for dispensing system wherein the cabinets may accommodate cartridges of various sizes for accommodating different quantities of bottles. Finally, there exists a need in the art for a dispensing system wherein the cartridge and cabinets are of simple construction and of low cost.